Wild Horse Reservoir is a man-made

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in Elko County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was initially created in 1937 by the construction of Wild Horse Dam. In 1969, a new concrete single-angle arch dam was constructed by the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

for the Bureau of Indian Affairs with a height of and a length of at its crest. The original 1937 dam was left in place and is still partly visible. The newer dam doubled the size of the reservoir. The reservoir impounds the

Owyhee River The Owyhee River is a tributary of the Snake River located in northern Nevada, southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon in the United States. It is long.Owyhee Rive accessed November 3, 2019 The river's drainage basin is in area, one of the l ...

for flood control and irrigation storage, part of the larger Duck Valley Irrigation Project. The dam and reservoir are owned and administered by the BIA, and leased to the nearby

Duck Valley Indian Reservation The Duck Valley Indian Reservation () was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone- Paiute Tribe. It is isolated in the high desert of the western United States, and lies on the state line, the 42nd parallel, betwee ...

(Sho-Pai). Recreation on the lake includes fishing for trout, bass, catfish and perch. The state of Nevada also maintains the adjacent Wild Horse State Recreation Area. The small community of

Wild Horse The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii''). The Europea ...

is located on the south shore.

Gallery

Image:2013-06-16 13 20 12 The double dams of Wild Horse Reservoir in Nevada.jpg, Double dams of Wild Horse Reservoir Image:2013-06-16 13 22 55 Wild Horse Reservoir in Nevada viewed from a rock outcrop above dam, with Nevada State Route 225 along the shore.jpg, Wild Horse Reservoir viewed from rock outcrop above dam Image:2013-06-16 13 59 05 Wild Horse Dam in Nevada viewed from down the Owyhee River, with Nevada State Route 225 on the left.jpg, Wild Horse Dam viewed from downstream Image:2014-08-19 13 19 01 Sign describing Wild Horse Dam, Nevada.JPG, Sign describing Wild Horse Dam

Climate

Wild Horse Reservoir has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

) bordering on a subalpine climate (Dfc). Summers are warm to hot with brisk nights, and tend to be drier than other times of the year. Winters are very chilly with heavy snowfall and nights near zero. The snowpack usually peaks during February at around 19 inches (48.3 cm).

References

External links

Wild Horse State Recreation Area
{{authority control Dams in Nevada Reservoirs in Nevada Owyhee River Buildings and structures in Elko County, Nevada Dams completed in 1937 Dams completed in 1969 United States Bureau of Indian Affairs dams Lakes of Elko County, Nevada Shoshone Paiute 1937 establishments in Nevada Native American history of Nevada

Gallery

Climate

See also

References

External links